For my solo SL project I got to spend the day with the wonderful youth group at Central Virginia Assembly of God. They were having a youth work day because someone from the church was donating money for them to go to camp this summer. Our day started after church service at around 1:30pm, and I was put in charge of the seven teens that showed up. Our job was staining the playhouse that the younger children played on during the warmer months. If anyone has ever worked with seven teens and six gallons of wood stain, it’s defiantly a messy process. The day started off well, since the youth had energy and were actually trying to stain the playhouse, but it didn’t last long because they were having more fun staining their friend’s clothes and arms than the wood. All in all it took the eight of us (plus or minus a few people at times) six hours, two pizzas, eight Gatorades, and seven cups of ice cream to finish the playhouse. Although I had a blast spending the day with the youth and helping to do something good for the children at our church, I went home covered in stain. The jeans I was wearing for the day were ruined as you can see from the picture I took later in the evening. I had to use Mineral Spirits to get the stain off my hands, arms, and face; it took me a whole week to finally get all the stain out of my hair though.
I think that having projects like this for youth, whether it be through a church, or some other organization is a great way to keep them out of trouble, and a great way for them to make friends. There were a ton of other things these seven teenagers could have been doing that Sunday afternoon, but instead they chose to stay after church for hours staining a playhouse that they’ll never use. Who knows what these teens would be doing if it wasn’t for things like youth group. These groups provide them positive role models and the opportunity to be with other young adults who can influence their behavior in a positive way.
The Central Virginia Assembly of God
For my solo SL project I got to spend the day with the wonderful youth group at Central Virginia Assembly of God. They were having a youth work day because someone from the church was donating money for them to go to camp this summer. Our day started after church service at around 1:30pm, and I was put in charge of the seven teens that showed up. Our job was staining the playhouse that the younger children played on during the warmer months. If anyone has ever worked with seven teens and six gallons of wood stain, it’s defiantly a messy process. The day started off well, since the youth had energy and were actually trying to stain the playhouse, but it didn’t last long because they were having more fun staining their friend’s clothes and arms than the wood. All in all it took the eight of us (plus or minus a few people at times) six hours, two pizzas, eight Gatorades, and seven cups of ice cream to finish the playhouse. Although I had a blast spending the day with the youth and helping to do something good for the children at our church, I went home covered in stain. The jeans I was wearing for the day were ruined as you can see from the picture I took later in the evening. I had to use Mineral Spirits to get the stain off my hands, arms, and face; it took me a whole week to finally get all the stain out of my hair though.
I think that having projects like this for youth, whether it be through a church, or some other organization is a great way to keep them out of trouble, and a great way for them to make friends. There were a ton of other things these seven teenagers could have been doing that Sunday afternoon, but instead they chose to stay after church for hours staining a playhouse that they’ll never use. Who knows what these teens would be doing if it wasn’t for things like youth group. These groups provide them positive role models and the opportunity to be with other young adults who can influence their behavior in a positive way.